May 25 (SO) I would like to share an interesting story of a remarkable patient whom I have operated on visiting me after 15 years. During the last phase of the separatist war in 2009, SL Army launched a humanitarian mission to rescue the Tamil civilians who got trapped in the no fire zone in Mulivaikkal, Mullaitivu district. LTTE with their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran kept them as hostages and shot at any one trying to escape through the Nanthikadal lagoon to the Army controlled area. more..

May 25 (Island) Torrential rains and gale-force winds have caused a large number of treefalls in different parts of the country. Falling trees have already snuffed out five lives and caused extensive damage to properties, especially vehicles and houses, during the past few days. The situation is expected to take a turn for the worse with rains intensifying. Perhaps, the city of Colombo is more prone to treefalls than any other urban centre in the country; the green giants adorning its streets and more..

May 25 (ST) The Central Bank (CB) will roll out a national digital currency by the end of the year with the aim of modernising the country�s financial transactions and regulatory framework, a senior official disclosed to a parliamentary committee recently. The initiative to introduce both Lanka Pay and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) is already in progress, a high official of the CB informed the committee. In the process of introducing CBDC, more..

May 25 (DN) SL Paralympic gold medalist Dinesh Priyantha Herath showcased his talent once again, securing second place in the Javelin Throw F-46 category at the World Para Athletic Championship held in Kobe, Japan. However, his achievement was met with a protest from one country, prompting a medical classification review for Dinesh Priyantha. The organisers will determine whether he is eligible for the silver medal or will be disqualified from the event after this medical review. more..

May 25 (EN) About 300 central bank staff out of 1,200 are employed in the Employees Provident Fund and related work, Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said, with the function due to be transferred to a separate agency after a revamp of its governing law. �When it comes to the EPF there is an obvious conflict of interest. We are very happy to take that function out,� Governor Weerasinghe told a forum more..

May 25 (Island) MP Akilan Manoharan Ganesan found fault with the US-led Western powers, successive post-war govts and one-time LTTE mouthpiece, TNA for what he terms the continuing predicament of the Tamil community. In a statement tweeted on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the conclusion of the war, the former Yahapalana Minister alleged (1) the international community gave SL the go ahead for all-out war against the LTTE (2) SL ordered the closure of Vanni more..

May 25 (DN) SL middle-distance athlete Aruna Darshana and javelin thrower Dilhani Lekamge left yesterday for the international athletics competition, The 2nd Belt and Road Athletics Invitation meeting � World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze Label, which is scheduled to be held in Chongqing, China from May 27-29. Aruna Darshana, part of the champion men�s 400 relay team, will participate in the 200m and 400m, while Dilhani Lekamge will compete in the women�s javelin throw event. more..

May 25 (EN) SL�s state interference in privatized plantations wages has escalated into a threat to grab the leased land if the companies fail to pay the govt ordered salaries due to mismanagement. SL is 2011 expropriated several private companies including two privatized sugar plantations, and a publicly listed hotel, claiming their assets were underutilized. SL has been unable to attract foreign investment in the scale of more..

May 25 (DN) SL�s girls� team earned a spot in the Final Qualifying Round after finishing second to India, while the boys� team secured third place by defeating Bangladesh in the ATF 12 and Under Team Competition � Regional Qualifying Event of South Asia, which wrapped up in Kathmandu, Nepal, yesterday. SL girls had an impressive run, winning three matches in a row against Maldives, Nepal, and Bangladesh. However, they faced defeat against India in the final with a score of 2-0, more..

May 25 (DN) As relentless rainfall continues, health authorities are sounding the alarm on hygiene standards at dansals during the Vesak festival. A senior official from the Health Ministry disclosed to the Daily Mirror that they have instructed local Medical Officers of Health and Public Health Inspectors to intensify monitoring of hygiene practices at dansals. Furthermore, health authorities have issued a public notice urging immediate reporting to nearest Medical Officer of Health more..

May 25 (Island) Asian Games medallist Dilhani Lekamge is set to compete at the 2nd Belt and Road Athletics Invitation meeting, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze Label event to be held in Chogqing, China from May 27-29.It will be her first international competition since taking part in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last year. The javelin thrower trained by Pradeep Nishantha was set leave the island on Friday (24) with sprinter Aruna Dharshana for more..

May 25 (DM) Minister Ramesh Pathirana has appointed 3 new professionals to National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) Board. This decision aligns with the NMRA Act of 2015, which empowers the Minister to nominate and appoint professionals of eminence from the fields of law, accountancy, management, and health. The new appointees include Chartered Accountant Sujeewa Mudalige, Prez's Counsel Palitha Kumarasinghe % senior Grade 1 officer in SLAS Susantha Kahawatta. more..

May 25 (TM) Innovative Production Group FZE (IPG) the Event Rights Partner of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) yesterday (23) clarified that notwithstanding the recent events surrounding the arrest of a co-owner of the Dambulla franchise, the League�s fifth edition will go ahead as scheduled. The press release comes in the wake of the owner of the LPL franchise Dambulla Thunders, Tamim Rahman being detained at BIA more..

May 25 (DM) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has strongly denied the allegations by Member of Parliament Hesha Withanage during a media briefing today, accusing the SLC President, the Tournament Director of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) and other SLC officials of involvement in match-fixing and corrupt conduct related to the LPL. As the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka and the organizing authority for the LPL since its inception in 2020, SLC emphasized its commitment more..

May 25 (ST) SL�s leading think tank Verit� Research has established a governance and anti-corruption research division under the leadership of Sankhitha Gunaratne, an attorney-at-law who has championed transparent, accountable, and participatory governance for over a decade. Verit� Research has made this strategic move against the backdrop of widespread, systemic corruption in SL and the reform and accountability needs of the moment. Governance & Anti-Corruption (GAC) division more..

May 25 (Island) Health Secretary Dr. Palitha Maheepala recently opened an oxygen generation plant at the Tissamaharama government hospital. UNICEF has provided the funding required for the project. The new facility, built at a cost of Rs 50 mn, could meet the oxygen requirement of all govt hospitals in the Hambantota district. This was in line with instructions issued by Health Minister Ramesh Pathirana with a view to improving overall health sector facilities in the provinces. more..

May 25 (PL) The Joint Committee of Democratic Unions of Sri Lanka confirmed its support for Cuba's declaration demanding its fair elimination from the list of states sponsors of terrorism created by the United States. The organization confirmed in a statement that adding Cuba to the arbitrary list has political purposes and causes serious economic problems for the Cuban people, despite which Cuba resists and is an example for the people who fight against imperialism. more..

May 25 (EN) After working 11 years in Saudi Arabia as a driver, Sanath returned to SL with dreams of starting a transport service company, buoyed by Gotabaya Rajapaksa�s 2019 presidential victory. However, COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and an unprecedented economic crisis in 2022 shattered his dreams. Once an aspiring entrepreneur, he became a bank defaulter. Facing hyperinflation, an unbearable cost of living, more..

May 25 (DM) A Special Determination petition was filed before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the Sri Lanka Telecommunications (Amendment) Bill which was recently placed on the Order Paper of Parliament. Media Law Forum (Guarantee) Limited filed this petition alleging that the structure of this Bill appears to be an effort to curtail the expression of opinions that diverge from the govt's stance. The petitioner is seeking a declaration that the Bill requires more..

May 25 (DN) State Defence Minister Pramith Bandara Tennakoon yesterday said six deaths and 11 injuries have been reported as a result of tree from May 19 and the adverse weather condition has affected 34,880 people of 9,616 families in 18 districts. He said the number of tree falls has been increased recently and special focus will be laid on the existing risk of falling trees. Tennakoon expected the support of the Road Development Authority, Provincial and Local Gts authorities to control more..

May 25 (CT) Due to inclement weather over the past 3 days, more than 200,000 breakdowns have led to power interruptions, affecting more than one million consumers, noted the CEB Engineers� Union. On 22 May afternoon alone, there were 50,000 power breakdowns. Minister Kanchana Wijesekera, on the other hand, said they have deployed additional service staff to address these breakdowns, more..

May 26 (CT) This year, Sri Lankans observed a relatively wet Vesak festival. The Met Department constantly warned the public of windy and rainy days, which tallied with the biggest Buddhist religious observance of the year. While going out in the night to temples, to witness Vesak illuminations, hanging up a few Vesak lanterns illuminated by electric lights and enjoy a few danselas are common practices during this time of the year, the religious Buddhist was made wary this year around as more..

May 26 (SO) Apart from taking more than seven million precious lives, the Covid-19 pandemic brought one other fact to the fore � the inequality between developed and developing worlds. The Global South watched with horror and dismay as the First World ordered and hoarded almost all the vaccines as soon as they came out of the production lines back in 2021, ignoring appeals by the WHO and GAVI, the vaccine alliance. The same story unfolded with Covid-19 treatments such as more..

May 26 (CT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe travelled to Indonesia to attend the 10th World Water Forum high-level meeting in Bali, at the invitation of Indonesian Prez Joko Widodo. 10th World Water Forum was held from 18 May in Bali, Indonesia. He met Elon Musk in Bali to discuss the implementation of Starlink in SL. Prez Wickremesinghe committed to expediting the application process to connect SL with more..

May 26 (CT) Amidst a severe economic crisis and an IMF-driven reform process, SL govt�s recent legislative surge, comprising over 42 bills, aims to reshape various facets of the country�s political, economic, legal, and social spheres. Central among these, for me, is the National Education Policy Framework (NEPF), which is yet to be tabled in Parliament. The proposed NEPF has already drawn significant attention and criticism. Opposition comes from FUTA, Medical Academics� and more..

May 26 (SO) Away from the prying eyes the Lanka Premier League (LPL) showcased its ugly side on yet another occasion with managers of cricketers holding sway calling the shots at a player auction this week in Colombo. In one of the shocking dirty dealings of shady characters, one of the country�s best acclaimed T20 batters Pathum Nissanka could not find a buyer in the first round as he supposedly did not have an influential manager and was only snapped up in the second round. more..

May 26 (TM) The Vesak holidays last week, which also presented a long weekend holiday, saw the usual politicking that has become quite common due to the upcoming elections take a more pious outlook, with political leaders of all key political parties racing against each other to engage in religious observances in their constituencies while moving around with the general public. While many members of his staff were taking a break more..

May 26 (ST) Last week�s UN report on SL from the Office of its High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), if one was to use a Churchillian phrase, was a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. For one, the release of the report�s timing gave the show away. It was a move by the Geneva office plainly to play to the anti-SL gallery. They obliged sections of the SL diaspora that is making maximum this election year of their vote banks in the domestic politics of US, UK & Canada more..

May 26 (TM) A long-serving former President of the SL Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) Ranjith Chandrasekara has said that decisions taken by the association were final concerning all tournaments it supervised in the country. He said that if there were any schools that failed to adhere to rules and regulations set forth, those schools should withdraw from participation and allow others to proceed rather than striving to hold the schools association to ransom. more..

May 26 (TM) The Information and Communication Technology Agency of SL (ICTA) will be absorbed by the proposed Digital Transformation Agency, the State Minister of Technology reveals. State Minister of Technology Kanaka Herath revealed that Cabinet approval had been granted subject to parliamentary approval to establish a new institution termed the Digital Transformation Agency, which would absorb the existing ICTA. He further stated that the functions of the new agency would be different to more..

May 26 (DM) NPP refuted claims that a JVP member has joined the SJB during a meeting in Polonnaruwa. NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the particular person was not a JVP member but an SLFP member. Dissanayake said the particular person Hitihamilage Saman Kumara is an SLFP candidate who had submitted nominations for the LG elections to contest for the Bendiwewa Division of the Polonnaruwa MC. "You must have seen the SJB today cheerfully more..

May 26 (ST) Following the release this week of an investigative documentary alleging that Bangladesh and SL sent officers implicated in torture and extrajudicial killings on United Nations peacekeeping missions, the world body has been forced to defend its screening process for peacekeepers. The joint investigation by German broadcaster DW, Sweden-based investigative outlet Netra News, and more..

May 26 (AD) An elephant has reportedly gone on a rampage at the end of a Vesak Perahera held in the Mawanella town tonight while a mahout has been critically injured and hospitalised after being attacked by the tusker. The mahout, who was critically injured in the attack by the rampaging elephant, has been admitted to the Mawanella Base Hospital. The elephant in question, Raja belongs to fleet of tuskers of Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy. Incident had reportedly occurred around 8 pm. more..

May 26 (SO) Sri Lanka urgently needs a special unit with authority to advise the govt on tax systems, said Principal of the Tax & Regulatory Division of KPMG in Sri Lanka, Suresh Perera. Tax consultant Suresh Perera was speaking at an Advocate Institute hosted event in Colombo on Wednesday. �Currently Finance Ministers impose taxes without studying the ground situation and this is detrimental to the country. For several decades taxes have been implemented on a trial and error basis,� he said. more..

May 26 (PMD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe inaugurated the Centre of Excellence for Women�s Healthcare at the Kilinochchi District General Hospital. The facility, constructed with funding of LKR 5,320 million from the Govt of the Netherlands, under the govt�s initiative to enhance healthcare infrastructure nationwide, was officially inaugurated by the President, this morning (25). Established in 2006, the Kilinochchi District General Hospital serves as the primary healthcare facility more..